Switched from Invisalign to Metal Braces

[moonallure]

Hi all,

I'm new here but definitely not new to braces. After nearly 3 years with Invisalign, I'd gotten to a point where I needed to decide if I was okay with "good enough" or if I wanted to continue on with refinements. I've been through so many refinement rounds I've honestly lost count. I just knew I wasn't happy with leaving it as good enough where my bite was still at my canines and I still had the slight overbite I'd so been hoping to fix. Therefore, I asked my orthodontist if I could switch to metal braces instead of continuing on with refinements that clearly weren't working. I just started my journey with Damon braces this week and I'm hoping this will do the trick. We're estimating another year in braces which honestly bums me out but I didn't want those 3 years to be for nothing either. I'm just going to take it week by week instead of thinking too much about how long this journey has been when I was originally told it'd only be 18 months max.

Anyone else here switch from Invisalign to metal or vice versa?

Excited to be a part of this community!

[Speck]

Yep. I'm glad to have switched early on. The year will be up before you know it.

[moonallure]

Speck wrote:
> Yep. I'm glad to have switched early on. The year will be up before you
> know it.

Do you mind me asking what made you finally switch and if you're still glad that you did? I'm really hoping for a much better end result. Invisalign was just so disappointing and I didn't realize being on them for an extended period of time could mess up your bite (apparently it's super common?).

[Speck]

The projected eighteen-to-twenty-four-months of treatment didn't seem so bad. At least at first. Then around five months into treatment the ortho told me that I'd be guaranteed to go into refinement stages. That reality combined with the daily hassle of brushing and flossing (around 825 brushing and flossing events over each six-month period) compelled me to make the change.

BTW, welcome to the board.

[Speck]

Typical day for me during Invisalign treatment:

Pull aligners for breakfast.
Have coffee/breakfast.
Floss and brush.
Reinstall aligners.
Pull aligners for Lunch.
Rinse aligners.
Have lunch.
Floss and Brush.
Reinstall aligners.
Pull aligners for afternoon coffee/snack.
Rinse aligners.
Have coffee/snack.
Brush only for coffee, floss and brush if having snacked with coffee.
Reinstall aligners.
Pull aligners for dinner.
Rinse aligners.
Have dinner.
Floss and brush.
Reinstall aligners.
Pull aligners for pre-bed snack.
Clean aligners.
Have pre-bed snack.
Floss and brush.
Reinstall aligners.
EVERY DAY for 18-24 months.

___________________

Your hands will be in and out of your mouth multiple times/day, so best have 'em clean.

Now, imagine doing all this with a busy and/or active lifestyle: On the go, in public restrooms, on planes, in gas station restrooms, etc.

Invisalign may work well, but it is not easy. My 2¢.